Inspection facilitating means



March 29, 1966 F. D. CUTTER INSPECTION FACILITATING MEANS Filed Jan. 6, 1964 fit? 4,

Z @122 4rramvs5l United States Patentf) 3,243,040 INSPECTION FACILITATING MEANS Frank D. Cutter, 5224 'Ellenwood'Place, Los Angeles 41, Calif. FiledJan. 6, 1964, Ser. No. 335,760 6 Claims. (Cl. 209-123) This invention relates to the manipulation and inspection of disk-like objects, e.g., coins, and more particularly to a means whereby in addition to positioning the objects for inspection they may be readily inverted so that both sides may be inspected.

The objects of the invention are: to provide a means whereby a plurality of disk-like objects may be brought into View for inspection one at a time and incident to such inspection be readily inverted to bring the other side thereof to View; to provide a means whereby the objects so inspected may be stacked for packaging and storage; and to provide a means in which the said objectives are realized in practice which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture, and effective for its intended purpose.

With the foregoing objectives in view together with such additional objects and advantages as may subsequently appear, the invention resides in the parts and in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts described, by way of example, in the following specification of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which form -a part of said specification and in which drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention as positioned for use,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged scale, top plan view of the device shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the staggered line 33 of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings, the illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises -a tray-like body I preferably of unitary construction and of rectangular configuration in plan and having a depending ledge portion or edge 2 extending along the lower face thereof inwardly from and parallel to the front edge 3, whereby the tray bottom surface 4 may rest on a table T or the like with the ledge portion 2 engaging the edge E of the table top. For convenience in description only, the ends of the body 1 will be referred to as the right hand end and left hand end having reference to the drawings and particularly FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof although, as the description of the invention proceeds, it will be evident that these designations could be reversed. The major portion of the top surface of the body 1 is flat and is bounded by a front wall 5, a right hand end wall 6, extending parallel to that end of the body 1 and a rear wall 7 which extends in a sweeping curve from the rear of the right hand end wall 6 to a juncture with the front wall at the left hand end thereof.

The left hand end of the front wall is reduced in width toward the front outer edge of the body 1 as it approaches the left hand front corner of the body 1 to join the left hand end of the back wall 7 in a curve 8 which is disposed in coaxial relation with a counterbore 9 formed in the upper end of the bore 10 extending through the bottom of the body 1 forwardly of the ledge 2. Removably mounted in the bore 10 is a tubular receptacle 11 having a bottom wall 12 and a flange 13 at the top end thereof which is seated in the counterbore 9.

The general area of the top surface 14 of the body 1 which is bounded by the wall 5, 6 and 7 is generally fiat and parallel to the bottom surface except for certain portions now to be described. The counterbore 9 is 3,243,040 Patented Mar. 29, 1966 ice formed in an area 15 adjacent to the front left hand corner which is parallel to but lower than the area 14; said area 15 extending along the wall 7 from the counterbore 9 and terminating at a vertical wall or ledge '16 extending to the plane of the area 14, said ledge being of concave configuration as viewed in plan or from the direction of the counterbore 9 and the concavity being generated on a radius somewhat greater than the radial dimensions of the objects to be inspected. Additionally, a sloping ramp surface 17 extends from the plane of the area 14 to the plane of the area 15 forwardly of the ledge 16 said ramp being bounded at the sides thereof by the .portion of the inner face of the front wall 5 which is reduced in width and by a wall face 19 forwardly of the concave ledge 16. At the rear left hand corner of the device, the wall 7, the rear wall portion 20 and the left hand end wall portion 21 bound -a storage area 22.

In use the device is placed on a table as shown in FIG. 1 with the coin receiving tube 11 mounted therein. A series of coins C are placed on the area 14 for inspection. If the inspection is only of the sides then exposed, the coins are moved one by one down the ramp 17 and into the tube 11. If it is desired to inspect the sides of any of the coins which are not exposed such coins are led one by one along the curved rear wall 7 to the ledge 16 and are snapped downwardly over the ledge as shown in FIG. 3 which causes the coin to be inverted. After inspection, the coin is either removed to the storage area or moved on into the tube 11. The tube is of such size and length as to take the number of the coins which are normally packaged in a roll and different tubes of different internal diameters are employed for the different coins, the interior diameter of the tubes being such that the paper tubes in which rolls of coins are normally packaged can be opened up and moved down over the stack of coins in the tube after which the tube 11 with the coins can be removed from the device for the purpose of removing the stack of coins and the paper tube therefrom so that the paper tubes can be closed over the roll or stack of coins.

While it is probable that this device will find its principal use by coin collectors, it is obvious that Where individual inspection of disk-like objects such as washers or other small parts is required the device is equally useful for such parts. Under those conditions, the storage tube may or may not be required to be used since it may be desirable to simply allow the inspected articles to drop through the hole 10 to a container on the floor or a container not adapted to forming the objects into a stack or roll. The device can be made of any suitable material. It may be cast or otherwise formed from metal. The form of the device lends itself to being formed of ceramic material or to be molded from plastic or even to being machined out of solid material. Also, while the illustrated embodiment shows a descending ramp leading to the receptacle, it is believed to be obvious that this ramp may be dispensed with and that an ascending ramp leading to the inverting ledge be employed as an equivalent of the illustrated embodiment.

While in the foregoing specification a presently preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed by way of example, it is not to be inferred therefrom that the invention is limited to the precise details thus disclosed and it will be understood that the invention includes as well all such changes and modifications in the parts and in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as shall come within the purview of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A means for facilitating the inspection of coins or other disc-like objects; said means comprising a tray having a generally fiat top surface defined by a surrounding wall and having a receptacle in which inspected objects are collected in stacked relation disposed at one corner of said tray, and a portion of said top surface being shaped to provide a ledge over which an object being inspected may be moved and inverted to expose the other side of the object for inspection.

2. An inspection facilitating means as claimed in claim 1 in which said receptacle is removably received in an opening disposed in a corner of said top surface and in which said opening is adapted to receive receptacles for different diameters of objects to be inspected.

3. An inspection facilitating means as claimed in claim 1 in which the bottom surface of said tray is provided with means engageable with the edge of a table on which said tray is placed for use effective to so position said tray as to afford clearance for said receptacle.

4. An inspection facilitating means as claimed in claim 1 in which said wall bounding said top surface includes a front portion and a rear portion extending laterally par- 20 allel to said front portion and thence in a curve toward one end of said front portion to form a corner in which said receptacle is located.

5. An inspection facilitating means as claimed in claim 1 in which the top surface of said corner in which said receptacle is located is disposed below the horizontal plane of said tray top surface, in which an inclined ramp surface connects a portion of said top surface at said corner with said tray top surface, and in which said ledge connects another portion of said tray top surface with said top surface at said corner.

6. An inspection facilitating means as claimed in claim 1 in which the face of said ledge in concave as viewed in plan and in front elevation.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 697,108 4/1902 Smith 133-3 1,037,405 9/1912 Abbott 1338 FOREIGN PATENTS 945,733 1/ 1964 Great Britain.

ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner. 

1. MEANS FOR FACILITATING THE INSPECTION OF COINS OR OTHER DISC-LIKE OBJECTS; SAID MEANS COMPRISING A TRAY HAVING A GENERALLY FLAT TOP SURFACE DEFINED BY A SURROUNDING WALL AND HAVING A RECEPTACLE IN WHICH INSPECTED OBJECTS ARE COLLECTED IN STACKED RELATION DISPOSED AT ONE CORNER OF 